I. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of covers for protecting smoke detectors and similar objects from vandalism and unauthorized removal of the smoke detector and/or of the batteries.
II. Description of the Prior Art
There is currently no known convenient protection against unauthorized removal of batteries from smoke detectors, or of the detector itself. Children and tenants, particularly in rental apartments and rental homes, often remove batteries from smoke detectors for other uses such as toys and other products. At times the detector themselves are removed from the premises. This leaves the buildings as well as their occupants less protected against fire. In addition to deaths and injuries, costs to owners of buildings and to insurance companies are higher to cover all of the damages which result from undetected fires that could be prevented if the detectors had not been tampered with. It is a serious and prevalent situation.
Anti-theft covers for other types of objects are known but not suitable for smoke detectors. A device for securing a storage battery against theft from vehicles, for instance, was described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,863 granted to Becker. The Becker battery cover taught stanchions extended upright from a battery tray to a hinged cover that was fastened down with hexagonal fastener nuts. Finkel et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,884,420 described a cage for protecting computer equipment with a structure not adaptable to protecting a smoke detector nor deterring unauthorized removal. Leuvelink U.S. Pat. No. 12,3812,4128 taught a camping device for preventing shock to electrical components. Smith in U.S. Pat. No. 4,8124,066 taught an easily accessible apparatus for storing eye corneas of donors. Other known devices are similarly different than taught by this invention.